The Sandy Hook school shooting devastated Newtown, Conn., killing 20 students and six teachers. Though Sandy Hook renewed concerns about gun violence and mental illness, it is far from the only mass shooting in America’s history.
Abi Stomberg | Argonaut
University of Idaho history major Josh Stoneking practices his aim Sunday at Spring Valley Reservoir. The reservoir is a popular target practice location.
Grant Duwe, director of research and evaluation at the Minnesota Department of Corrections, said there have been 156 mass shootings — defined as four or more people being shot in a single incident — in America in the past 100 years. Since the 1980s, there have been 116 mass shootings, 14 of which have occurred since 2010.
But mass shootings are only one component of gun violence. In an average year, 31,537 people die as a consequence of guns in America, according to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
The country is divided over what should be done to prevent gun violence, and the city of Moscow is no exception.
Although shootings are stereotyped as a problem in big cities, the citizens of Moscow have seen their share of gun violence.
A May 2007 shooting at the Latah County Courthouse left three dead — including Officer Lee Newbill of the Moscow Police Department — and two wounded.
University of Idaho graduate student Katy Benoit and former UI assistant professor of psychology Ernesto Bustamante died in a murder-suicide in August 2011.
In the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting, the Moscow City Council met Jan. 22 to discuss actions that could be taken to address gun violence in the community.
City of Moscow Supervisor Gary Riedner said because Moscow is preempted by the state of Idaho, the only thing they can regulate is the discharge of firearms within the city. Consequently, the discussion was based not around a new policy, but a letter drafted by Mayor Nancy Chaney and City Council President Walter Steed recommending the State Legislature take a course of action.
The letter was based on a memo issued by Moscow Police Chief David Duke that laid out actions the police department believes would limit gun violence. The letter included the following recommendations: defining and limiting assault weapons, stricter requirements for background checks, limiting access to high capacity magazines, increasing documentation of gun sales, controlling and recording the sale of ammunition, support of national standards for concealed carry permits, mandating of a database including a fingerprint for every gun sold and steps to ensure law enforcement can mandate and encourage safe gun ownership.
The council’s discussion of the letter was long and intensely divided. Council members Wayne Krauss and Dan Carscallan both spoke out against the letter, arguing it did not accomplish enough to justify infringing on the Second Amendment rights of responsible gun owners.
“Last time I checked it was already illegal to shoot people, yet that still happens,” Carscallan said.
Carscallan said he disagreed with the definition of assault weapon used in the letter.
“Is the definition based on aesthetics? What makes a gun with a black plastic stock more of an assault weapon than the same gun but with a wood stock?” Carscallan said.
Krauss also disagreed with the definition of assault weapons. He mentioned his opposition to limiting the sale of .50 caliber rounds because it could prevent people from purchasing lead balls for black powder rifles.
“I have a difficult time supporting all of it,” Krauss said. “It’s a band-aid that covers a huge festering wound we have in this country. I can’t put my name on a band-aid and I wish I had a solution.”
Council members Tom Lamar and Tim Brown spoke out in support of the letter as written, arguing that doing something was better than nothing, even if it wouldn’t solve the problem entirely.
“I think it would be amazing if we could write a two-page letter and have it solve anything,” Lamar said. “But I don’t see it as a band-aid. I see it as a first step.”
Lamar also said he thought the state of Idaho should work to define what an assault weapon is.
Brown said he believed communities and nations demand action from governmental agencies to address issues such as gun violence.
“I believe this letter represents the best of what the city council could put forward,” Brown said.
During the discussion, Duke was asked to clarify some of the recommendations in the letter. He said the primary motivation to limit the sale of ammunition .50 caliber and up — excluding lead balls — was due to those rounds having significantly increased impact energy and flight distance. He mentioned the police department does not carry rounds of that size for safety reasons.
Council member Sue Scott moved to vote on an amended version of the letter that would strike the recommendation to define and limit access to assault weapons and limiting the sale of ammunition .50 caliber or higher. The motion passed unanimously after being amended.
Duke said he was not too discouraged about the things the city council voted to remove from the letter.
“I still think the state of Idaho needs to define what an assault weapon is, but I’m happy the council is sending the letter. At this point we need to do something,” Duke said.
Duke also said that although we have always had violence, the tools have changed. He said the government should not regulate morality and the issue is one of respect within society.
Donald Smith, a member of the Troy Deary Gun Club, said he supports Second Amendment rights as long as gun owners are law-abiding citizens. He does not think the problem is guns, or a lack of laws regulating them. He said he thinks it lies within society. Smith mentioned that young people do not have discipline, and drugs and alcohol play a big part in gun violence.
Smith said there have not been
any new members who have joined the gun club because of the shootings, but said some of the local gun stores have seen increased demand.
Smith said there are already enough laws on the books controlling gun usage, and he is worried about new ones because he thinks politicians will not just stop at controlling assault rifles and machine guns.
Monir Desouky, an employee with University of Idaho Food Services, said he thinks guns are an issue of social life in America.
“As Americans we often have guns even if we don’t need them. It’s a fashion,” Desouky said.
Desouky said he has no problem with hunting rifles or handguns as long as people own them legally and are trained how to handle them safely. He does not think anyone needs to own an assault rifle.
Desouky said fewer guns on the street means greater safety. He said it won’t stop the problem entirely, but it will lessen its effects.
“Even if there were no guns in society, there would still be violence. That won’t go away, but why make it easier?” he said.
Desouky said with guns it is all about risk management. People have to recognize guns are dangerous. He mentioned his son, who shot himself accidentally when cleaning his gun, even though his son had been trained how to handle guns properly.
Desouky also said he thinks more concealed carry permits are not the solution.
“I think the concealed carry permit response is a nightmare. You have to realize that if you draw a gun in a shooting there are only two outcomes: kill, or be killed,” Desouky said.
Andrew Deskins can be reached at [email protected]
